


The Sea Foam

by Fire_Bear



Series: OUAP Mystical Week [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Day 7, Falling In Love, First Kiss, M/M, Magic, Multi, OUAPEvent Mystical Week, Princes & Princesses, Spells & Enchantments, True Love's Kiss, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 11:29:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13293921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Lance is a rebellious mer-prince who often swims to the surface despite the rules set down by his parents. He can't help falling in love with the prince he saves from a stormy ocean.But will Prince Keith ever love him back?





	The Sea Foam

**Author's Note:**

> Based more on the [Hans Christian Andersen version](http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html) than the Disney one - but I took elements of both!
> 
> I also decided that there's more to the story than just this, though I don't have an end point, yet. I _do_ know that I wanna write more of this...
> 
> Also, I know this is actually a few hours late where I am but, again, it's still the 6th somewhere! :)

Far, far below the surface of the ocean, there lived a group of merfolk. They were ruled over by their Sea King, a loving merman who had a large family. All of them were considered to be the most beautiful in the sea and delighted in the affections of their subjects. With their wise heads and kind hearts, the Royal Merfolk were treated with respect. No-one defied the rules.

Except for one of the princes, the middle child.

Lance was mischievous, kind, curious and clever when in a scrape. People would always ask him to help save their children or mates from precarious situations in shipwrecks or rockfalls. Everyone loved him – but none of them were _in love_ with him. It made him feel lonely amongst his brothers and sisters, many of whom had found themselves mates. Even his younger sister had one. But merpeople only approached him for official business.

So, to occupy his time, Lance took to swimming up to the surface. This was not allowed as, only a generation ago, Lance's mother had lost a sister to the humans. Nobody had ever told him how the humans had taken her but Lance always heard the sadness in his mother's voice. Wanting to know exactly what had happened to her, Lance took to searching for the answer himself, though he kept vigilant in order to keep himself safe. He didn't want his mother to have to lose a son, too, after all. So he watched the humans from afar and, sometimes, he would even sneak into the room his father kept the Seeing Orb within to watch what the humans did on land.

One day, Lance swam up to the surface during a storm. Under the surface, the water had a certain energy and the fish had fled downwards, neither of which deterred him. Lance rose until he broke the surface and watched the wind and rain whip the waves up, making them huge and dangerous. A wooden ship was being battered when he emerged and he watched it in interest. Things were thrown or fell overboard and Lance ducked under the water to find out what they were. Once he'd gotten closer to the conveyance, Lance pulled one of the wooden things down below, intending to take it to a quieter place to find out what it was.

If he had been a little faster, he would never have seen the movement beside him. But it caught his eye and he turned to find a human under the water. To Lance's eye, it appeared to be a male human but Lance was limited to his experience with merpeople so he supposed he could be wrong. The person thrashed around, setting out for the surface. Lance watched them, wondering if he should go nearer. His decision was made when he watched the wretched being reach the surface time and again only to be drawn back under. Just as the person grew weaker, Lance swam to them. Their eyes were closed so Lance felt safe in wrapping an arm around their waist and lifting them upwards. After he had worked out which direction the ship had been travelling in, Lance took him to shore.

Since he had to keep the human's head above water, it took Lance some time to reach the sunny beach he presumed was close to where the human had wanted to go. He set the human out upon the dry sand, wincing at the coarse grit which rubbed against the scales of his tail. But he ignored them as he dragged the human out of the water and a safe distance away. Once he had, he paused before he turned to leave. The human had a head of black hair which stuck to his forehead and the sides of his face. His nose was straight and long above lips which parted ever so slightly. Lance held his hand above them and felt the human expelling air which meant he would be fine.

Then he turned his attention to the human's body which was covered by what he had heard them call clothes. It seemed to be simplistic, merely something to cover his body and a second thing to cover their legs. Curious, Lance pulled at the top part, tugging at it until, with a ripping sound, it fell apart. Underneath, the human was quite muscled with a few scratches across his torso. Lance traced those marks with his fingers, wondering what had made them and why. With nothing to give him the answers, he plucked at the lower part until he'd loosened them. Pulling them away, Lance peered down them and found the thing that made the humans male, according to sailors he had eavesdropped upon.

At that moment, the man took a deep breath and shifted. Eyes fluttering, he gasped, coughing slightly. Lance watched him, leaning over his body to peer at him. When the man stared, dazed, up at the sky, Lance found himself looking at his eyes. Lance was surprised to find that they were a pretty colour, like some of the shells and precious stones he could find at the bottom of the ocean. A dark blue, with purples and greys mixed within, it gave them the appearance of being almost black. They called out to him begging to be taken, to be possessed, to be _Lance's_ , though he knew the only way to keep them would be to be the man's lover.

The man blinked a few times, his eyes growing more focussed. When he tried to speak, Lance suddenly remembered the danger he was in and, quickly throwing the top part of the man's clothes over his chest again, Lance turned and hurriedly dragged himself back to the sea. At the water's edge, he paused and looked back. The man hadn't moved, seemed to be having difficulty even lifting his arms, and Lance breathed a sigh of relief that the man didn't seem to have seen him.

Back in the sea, Lance made his way home, wondering who the man had been and what he was doing on the ship. So he headed for the Seeing Orb and asked it to show him the man he had saved. Lance watched and watched and continued watching, sneaking in every day to watch the man. Somehow, the man intrigued him and Lance wanted to know more and more, wished he could be there, could reach out and touch him.

It turned out that the man was a prince named Keith. He was the prince of a nation called Marmora, a land which valued information gathering and fighting with swords. Their swords were made of metal and there were many manipulators of this material. In fact, it seemed to be their main 'export'. Apparently, Marmora had allies in a country called Altea who had a beautiful princess called Allura.

As he watched Keith, Lance realised that he seemed rather lonely. He was polite to the visiting dignitaries and he did his duty but he hardly smiled genuinely and he retreated to his private room as soon as he could. Alone, he would stare at a blade, given to him by his mother. Lance didn't understand the significance of it but he yearned to hug him when he saw him in those moments. He also learnt that Keith was kind to his people, that he stood up for those who were downtrodden, that he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, that he loved so much that he built up prickly walls to protect himself. One time, Lance almost knocked the Orb from its plinth wishing to push those walls down.

That was the moment that he realised that he was in love. He may not know Keith very well but he still wanted to be with him. But what chance did a fish have against the beautiful women of Altea or the handsome, strong men of Marmora? Despairing, Lance wandered the darkest depths of the oceans, despite his parents' warnings of the dangers there, in an attempt to stay far away from his prince.

Spotting the sea witch's hovel on his journey, Lance realised what he should do. Delighted at his idea, he swam straight for the little house made from the bones of humans who had drowned beneath the waves. As he drew closer, he began to grow frightened, warily watching the sea slugs and sea snakes which writhed in the thorny garden he had to pass through. He shuddered as he saw the bones of the humans and wondered if any of them were actually the bones of merpeople who had come to the witch for help.

"Haggar!" he called once he'd reached the doorway. "Haggar, I need your help!"

"Come in, my dear little prince," came a raspy voice from within.

Suppressing another shudder, he entered. Inside the little house was a mermaid. At least, she was classed as a mermaid. However, she did not have a fish's tail; instead, her lower body was that of an octopus's or a squid's. Lance could never tell the difference between those. Her skin was purple, her hair white and her eyes glowed with an alarming yellow. She smiled at Lance.

"I know why you have come, my dear," she said, coming forward. Reaching up, Haggar cupped Lance's face, sending horrible chills racing along Lance's body.

"If-If you know, then will you help me?" Lance asked, trying to ignore Haggar's fingers trailing along his upper body. It felt wrong and he desperately wanted to leave. Only his determination to find a way to be with Keith kept him in Haggar's reach.

"Of course," Haggar answered. "But it will not be easy and I demand a price."

"What... What is it you will do for me?"

"I will give you legs," said Haggar, gripping Lance's face and drawing him further into her domain. Lance ignored his misgivings and the pride which told him he should be offended by the treatment. He could not risk upsetting her.

"Legs?" Lance said, surprised. "Those things the humans 'walk' on?"

"Indeed." Haggar settled on a chair made from more bones and skulls. She forced Lance to come before her, hands on his wrists so he could not swim away. He bit his lip and stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate, which she eventually did. "I can give you legs but you will be in great pain. Each step will feel like knives are being plunged into them, continuously, so that you think you should be bleeding. But your movements will be graceful and, mm, enticing enough to snare your prince's interest. Do you still wish to go through with this?"

Lance hadn't been expecting a chance to back out so he was quite surprised. That was the only reason that he paused before saying, "I do not mind pain. I will do it."

Haggar tugged on his arms until he was bent over her, their faces close. "You will never be able to come home," she told him. "You will never again be a merman, never again see your family, never again play among the fish. And, if the prince marries another" – Lance's eyes widened at the suggestion – "and if you do not convince him to love you, your heart will break and you will become the foam upon the waves the very morning after his wedding. Are you still willing to gain legs?"

Nodding, Lance said, "Yes." It broke his heart to never again be able to go home but he wanted this chance. Besides, he knew that his family would come to him once he found a way to contact them and he would be able to see them again, no matter what the witch said.

As soon as he gave his answer, the witch let go of one of his arms and used that free hand to pull his tail in. Before Lance could react, he was sitting in the witch's lap.Tentacles wrapped around him, tugging at his fins and sticking to his waist. The witch stroked his hair and Lance's eyes fluttered, his arms flopping uselessly as he felt almost sleepy. She spoke, then, and her voice sounded sweeter, rather pretty and comforting.

"There is a price, of course," she murmured, fingers tracing Lance's jaw. Without thinking, he bared his neck, his fluttering eyes catching sight of her malicious glee. Those fingers danced down to his throat, drawing patterns there. "I have heard you are a beautiful singer and I wish to hear it down here."

"How?" breathed Lance, blinking at her. "How can I let you hear me?"

Fingers tangled into his hair, rubbing gently at his scalp as the witch teased out tangles. Her other hand still teased at his throat. Before she spoke, her tentacles began to press against him, either stroking or massaging him. Lance relaxed even further, prepared to help the witch listen to his singing in return for those legs.

"I will take your voice," whispered Haggar, her voice still sweet. "You will not be able to speak to your prince but you will be able to use the rest of your talents" – the witch huffed a laugh – "to seduce him."

"My... My voice?" asked Lance, distracted by the contentedness he felt in the witch's arms.

"It will make my magic work."

"And I will get to see Keith?"

"Yes," said Haggar, right into his ear. "You will get to be with him every day. Give me your voice."

Lance blinked a few times, forced himself to concentrate and turned his head to look at her. "How?" he asked her. Haggar tilted her head in question. "How do I give my voice to you?"

Haggar grinned. "All you need to do," she said, "is sing."

Smiling at her, Lance opened his mouth and did exactly that. Almost as soon as he'd started, Haggar dug her fingers into his neck. It was painful and Lance wanted to stop then but he found that he couldn't. No matter how many times he closed his mouth in order to stop what was happening, his mouth would open again and his voice flowed out. He thrashed when he felt something form like a stone in his throat which was being pulled out through his neck. But Lance couldn't get away, for the tentacles tightened their grip to keep him close to Haggar while the hand in his hair tugged his head back, pain prickling at his scalp.

Eventually, the sounds coming from his mouth stopped. The pain quickly faded and Lance slumped into Haggar's lap. Through bleary eyes, Lance saw Haggar holding a glowing, golden orb. She prodded at it and Lance heard his voice singing a high note. When she prodded it again, it erupted in a low note. She looked back at him, her eyes seeming to glint with wickedness. Lance shuddered and tried to speak, tried to revoke what he'd done. But no words came out, no matter how hard he tried. Haggar laughed even as she stroked his hair and throat, relaxing him once more.

"I will place the spell on you now," said Haggar, pleasantly. "It will not take effect until you are out of the ocean so do not worry about drowning or being crushed under the weight of the sea. Are you ready to have legs?"

Tired from losing his voice and a little muddled, Lance nodded as he curled into Haggar. She leaned over him, almost as if she was shielding him from something. Lance felt a vague sensation such as he would when he finally returned home from a dangerous exploration. It lasted but a moment: no sooner had he thought that than the witch gave a yell and Lance was enveloped in a piercing pain. If he had had his voice, he would have screamed. As it was, his eyes flew wide and he thrashed – or tried to. Haggar had him so firmly in her grasp that Lance could do nothing but open his mouth wide and silently scream as bolts of black magic hit him over and over.

When it was over, the witch finally let him go and he dropped to the floor in front of her ugly chair. Haggar laughed at him. "Why, it _does_ feel good to see the Royal Family below me," she said, looking amused. "I wonder how this will unfold."

Lance didn't know what she was talking about but he knew that, should he stay, Haggar would likely take something else from him. So he pushed himself up and swam away, throwing a glare at her over his shoulder. His eyes caught sight of the glowing orb hanging beside her and he felt a fierce sadness at its loss.

He swam to where he knew the prince would find him; his palace was nestled between a beach and a cliff-face. On the way, he came to the edge of the merfolk's settlement. Lance could see the palace and he mourned the loss of his family, hoping they would come to the surface someday. Continuing on his way, Lance was soon pulling himself from the sea. As he had the day he'd rescued Keith, Lance pulled himself up to the dry sand. Instantly, a pain cut through him, as if he was being chomped on by a shark. He passed out from the pain, too exhausted to fight it.

A little while later, Lance woke up. The sun beat down on him and a breeze blew across his body. Slowly, Lance sat up and found that he did, indeed, have legs. They were long, pretty things which were the same dark colour as his torso. He stretched them out and marvelled at them. Lance was just about to try to stand when he noticed that he had one of those things which made people men. Staring at it, Lance prodded at it, wondering what it actually did. He'd seen men expelling something from their bodies over the sides of ships but he couldn't understand how that worked. So, curiously, he grasped it and swung it around, thinking that the stuff would fall out. Nothing happened, however, and Lance gave up. He was sure he'd find out what it was later.

Just as he was about to push himself onto his legs, he heard a shout behind him. Turning, he saw a wide-eyed Keith rushing towards him. Alarmed and flustered, Lance shrank back, trying to drag himself out of the way. Weak as he was, he didn't get far at all and Keith was soon kneeling beside him. Keith's eyes roved over him before returning to stare intently at him. It took Lance's breath away. "Are you okay?" Keith asked. Then he paused, frowning slightly. "Your eyes," he murmured.

"Keith!" came a woman's voice, one Lance recognised from his Orb-gazing as being Keith's mother. "What's going on?"

Turning to look at her, Keith said, "I don't know." Then he turned back to Lance and asked him, "What happened to you? Did you get washed overboard?"

Lance shook his head and leaned towards him, smiling widely. He tried to speak, to tell Keith that he was a mer-prince who had fallen in love with him. But, of course, no sound came out even as he moved his mouth. Sadly, he drew back and shook his head.

"You've lost your voice," said Keith. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Shaking his head, Lance thought of the pain he was going to have in his legs. Should he claim that he couldn't walk? What would Keith do then? Lance dug his fingers into the sand beneath him and watched Keith stand.

"I'm going to take him to the palace," Keith told his mother.

The queen looked between Keith and Lance. "Keith..." she said. "I know you-"

"This has nothing to do with me," Keith snapped. "This man needs help and I won't leave him here to die of exposure."

Eyes wide, Lance felt his heart swell. He had never believed Keith would direct his kindness to him. Feeling himself fall even more in love, Lance ducked his head to hide a smile. When he looked back up, Keith had turned to him. His hand was held out and, bracing himself, Lance took it, feeling tingles run through him at the contact. Then Keith pulled him up and Lance felt the pain Haggar had described piercing him. He winced and stumbled, ending up in Keith's arms.

"Ah," said Keith, sounding embarrassed. "Your legs are weak. Let me carry you."

" _Really_ , Keith," his mother began.

She was stopped by Lance nodding eagerly. Keith snorted in amusement but he bent over and scooped him up. It was an effortless movement and Lance was pleasantly surprised by how strong Keith was. He languidly looped his arms around Keith's neck and smiled at him, hoping he could convey how grateful he was. For a moment, Keith simply stared back at him, his eyes flicking between each of Lance's as if searching for something. Lance blinked at him and, before he could stop himself, he yawned. It had been a long day.

"Don't worry," Keith murmured. "You're safe now. You can rest."

Trusting Keith completely, Lance did so and found himself waking in a strange room. The bed was soft and there was a large bathtub with a young woman beside it. She helped him in and he was washed. Clothed in the finest materials, Lance emerged from the room with careful steps – once he'd worked out how to put on something called trousers. By that point, he had also found out how to pee (as instructed by the blushing young woman) and was both disgusted and delighted to have gained new knowledge.

Once he had eaten in the kitchen, he was taken to the prince who was outside in a large space which was clear of bushes or flowers. Keith wore no 'shirt' and had a useless wooden sword in his hand. Another man faced him, just as muscled as him. Lance felt a flutter of desire which was quickly quelled when Keith began to attack him. At first, Lance thought it was an actual fight. Then he realised that they were merely training. It was a beautiful sight and Lance was in awe of the movements of Keith – particularly the way his muscles shifted as he swung the blunted weapon.

By the time Keith had defeated his opponent, Lance yearned to be with him. So, when he turned around to take a towel and wipe off the sweat, Lance beamed at him. Before he could talk himself out of it, Lance walked carefully towards him. Keith watched him, his eyes roving up and down him. When he reached Keith, Lance held out his hand. Keith didn't hesitate to bow over it and press a kiss to the back of it.

“How are you feeling?” he asked Lance.

Unable to answer, Lance smiled and nodded.

“I wish you could speak,” Keith said with a sigh. “But I think I’ve found a solution. Come with me.” 

He began to walk back to the palace. Lance watched him go, knowing he was going to cover himself up. Mourning the loss, Lance glanced over at the pile of training swords. An idea occurred to him that would work on two levels: keep Keith shirtless and perhaps impress him as well. To gain Keith's attention, he clapped his hands together. Keith jolted in surprise and turned back to him, raising his eyebrows as Lance clapped his hands, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible. Then, with pain dogging his steps, Lance made his way to the pile and took up one of the swords.

That made Keith grin. He returned to Lance with his blunted sword in his hand. They faced off, Lance taking delicate steps around Keith as they circled each other. He was pleasantly surprised that he was actually slightly taller than Keith and made sure to smirk at Keith to draw attention to this superiority. Keith's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. They clashed, then. and Lance was able to observe the sheer strength of Keith. Each hit pushed Lance back and jarred his arms as he fought to keep the sword from hitting him. Lance marvelled at the shifting of Keith's muscles, the urge to touch them growing stronger than even the pain he felt with each manoeuvre.

Finally, Keith defeated Lance, the sword slipping from his grasp as Keith forced him backwards. Still unused to his legs, Lance didn't move them fast enough and felt himself falling. Heart in his throat, he squeezed his eyes shut and waited to feel even more pain. Instead, an arm caught him, halting his descent so that he was leaning backwards. Instinctively, Lance reached out and grabbed onto something. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was gripping Keith's shoulder tightly while Keith held him up, his dark eyes wide in surprise. Slowly, Keith drew him upright till Lance stood before him, hands resting lightly on his shoulders.

Neither of them moved as they gazed at each other.

It took Keith a long moment but he finally stepped away, to Lance's dismay. He surveyed Lance and he smiled back at Keith, hoping the prince would understand. But the prince ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the crowd which had gathered. “Follow me,” he said to Lance.

Dutifully, Lance did so. They made their way through the palace, along corridors, across a large entrance hall and up some extravagant stairs. Eventually, they came to a large room full of shelves. Every one of them was filled with varying sizes of things which seemed to be made of some sort of thick material. Lance had never seen anything like it and he stared at it all in wonder.

Looking back at Keith, Lance saw that he had been led to a table upon which thin sheets of another strange material lay. Beside it was what appeared to be a single feather propped up in a tiny bowl. Lance looked at it in confusion. Pulling out a chair, Keith gestured for Lance to sit; with relief, Lance did so.

“Here,” said Keith, pushing the bowl towards him. “Write down your name, at least,” Keith said. He plucked the feather from the bowl and held it out to Lance who stared at it in fascination. On one end of it was a sort of sharp thing which was definitely not normally there. Upon working out that ‘write’ had something to do with the other things on the table, he pulled the pile towards him and placed the odd end to it. Something black spread across the pale things, reminding Lance of the ink of an octopus. Startled, Lance tried to leap away from it but Keith's firm hold stopped him from toppling the chair and falling.

“Do you know how to write?” asked Keith, his face very close to Lance's. He had to resist the urge to kiss him. Lance shook his head. Keith smiled sadly at him. “Then I suppose the written word is not a good way to communicate…”

Lance’s eyes widened as Keith drew away from him. With a silent gasp, he reached out and grabbed his hand. When Keith looked at Lance, the merman frowned and pulled his hand down to the objects on the desk. Keith blinked at him for a while before grinning.

“You want me to teach you?” Keith asked. Lance nodded eagerly. “Good. And I have had another idea…”

Delighted that Keith would stay with him, Lance readily agreed to whatever Keith wanted him to learn. And so it came to pass that the prince of Marmora taught the prince of the merfolk how to read and write. While he learnt that, Keith brought in someone called Thace to teach them both something he called ‘sign language’. As he learnt these skills, the women of the court found it hilarious to treat him as a little sister. They taught him the language of the fans and the flowers of the land and the dances of the balls. When he sneaked out of the palace on the days when Keith was too busy for him (which broke his heart), he was shown how to dance to wow men and a great many things he would never have learnt had he stayed in the sea.

Eventually, Lance appeared at Keith's door early one morning with a red rose and a piece of paper. Once he'd been admitted, Lance handed them to Keith who stared at them and read the message.  _ My name is Lance _ . Keith looked up at him, eyes wide.

“Lance?” he said.

Nodding, Lance quickly signed another statement.  _ I love you _ .

Keith turned his head away. “We have not known each other long,” he said as he glanced back at Lance. “There is no possible way you could love me.”

_ I do _ .

“Lance,” said Keith in warning. "Don't do this."

_ Why not? _ Lance demanded, scowling at him.

"I just... There are things happening that you don't know about."

_ What things? Why have you not told me? _

"It... I can't. I'm sorry." Keith stepped towards him and took Lance's hands in his own. "Please believe me that I _want_ to tell you," Keith said, earnestly. "But..." He sighed and ducked his head a little. "I cannot tell someone who's essentially a stranger."

Lance pulled his hands roughly from Keith's so he could 'speak'.  _How can I be a stranger after all this time together?_

Shaking his head, Keith stepped out of his space, looking at Lance sadly. "I don't know where you came from. Nobody does. You could be a spy. I could put my kingdom in danger. Do you understand that?"

_I'm not stupid!_ Lance signed so quickly that he was impressed that Keith kept up with it.

"I know-"

_My own kingdom is often in more danger than yours. Humans are vicious creatures to those they do not understand. I left the ocean for you_ -

"Wait," said Keith, not bothering to 'read' what Lance was in the middle of saying. "'Humans'? Then what are you?"

_I am_ \- Lance had to stop and grab the note he had written for Keith. He turned it over and, plucking the quill he now kept stuck behind his ear, he glided over to Keith's desk. Once there, he grabbed the ink pot and jabbed the quill into it. After he'd blotted the parchment in one corner, he scowled and wrote, far less neatly than normal, one word. Showing it to Keith, he pointed at it, frowning at him.  _Merman._

"'Merman'? There is no such thing," Keith said, scoffing at him.

Growing angry with the stupid human he had let himself fall in love with, the stupid human he endured so much pain for every day, Lance threw the pen at Keith's head. It bounced off, startling the prince: his eyes widened and he gaped at Lance.  _I went to the sea witch,_ Lance told him.  _I traded my voice for legs to be with the one I love._

Keith seemed to be frozen. Then, his face pale, he nodded. "I see."

_Do you?_ Lance asked but Keith wasn't looking and so he did not see.

"I have work to be doing," Keith told him. "Go tell people your name so that they can stop calling you 'boy'."

Lance hesitated, unsure of the shift in mood. When Keith did not look at him, Lance left the room, unable to ask what was wrong. He wasn't sure Keith had understood his confessions in that room and resolved to tell him that night once everyone was asleep.

But, that very day, Lance heard devastating news. Keith was to be married to Allura of Altea. Lance had met Allura before: she also knew sign language as part of her desire to spread peace and communicate properly with each kingdom. She was extremely beautiful and had Lance not been so in love with Keith, he would have been much more attracted to her. As it was, they had become good friends, especially as both of them were outsiders to the Marmoran court.

Heartbroken, he had avoided Keith and, in the months leading up to the wedding, their conversations were stilted. Lance willingly looked away when Keith tried to talk to him with their secret language. He caught words like 'love' and 'sorry' but Lance could not bear to be told that he had no chance with the handsome prince. Then again, he knew what would happen afterwards. Lance almost wished it would come sooner, if only to ease the ache he felt day after day.

So he lost himself in his learning. He travelled further from the palace than before. When the lake froze over, he learnt how to ice skate, even if he was rather wobbly. Keith found him there one day and tried to accompany him the next but Lance refused and insisted that Antok or Regris teach him how to better his swordplay instead. It wasn't long until Keith wanted to join in but Lance explained that he was feeling sore and had to lie down in the guest room he still occupied. All the while, Keith's parents looked at him strangely. Clearly, they wished for Lance to be gone and leave Keith to be happily married in peace.

Winter turned into spring and spring turned into summer and Lance felt trapped. He had learnt all he could whilst he lived in the palace. There was an entire world out there and he wanted desperately to find out more about the humans. Yet he could not leave Keith, not when there was the slimmest chance that they could be together. He kept hoping that Keith would refuse to marry Allura, scoop him up and carry him off to be happy elsewhere.

All of a sudden, however, the entire palace was on a ship for the wedding. Keith and Allura said their vows in front of Lance and everyone else, their parents left the ship and they began to sail somewhere. Since Lance had been avoiding Keith for so long, he had been unaware of the plans and was now stuck with them, travelling wherever they were going. It felt like he were in a dream and that it wasn't reality. Or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to call it a nightmare. From a distance, Lance watched Keith smiling fondly at Allura and Allura laughing at something Keith said.

His legs didn't hurt as much as his heart did.

Finally, everyone went to bed. Lance was given a small cabin to himself next to Keith and Allura. He wasn't sure why this had been arranged or why they had decided to bring him along. Surely it would have been better to leave him behind? And he knew now how humans reproduced and he didn't want to hear it happening. Not when one half of them was the man he loved.

So, as night fell, Lance stayed on the deck, hidden from the sailors. He dangled his legs over the side, staring out at the water. His chest ached. The ocean was so close to him now and he yearned to see his family, if only for one last farewell. All those months with Keith had been so wondrous that he had hardly spared them a thought, except for night when he was sure he heard their songs come to him through the window. Now, though, he felt tears run down his cheeks and, for once, wished he had not thought to go to the sea witch.

Then, as if someone had heard his thoughts, a wave rose higher than the rest. Lance gasped, fearful that it would sweep Keith from the ship as it had the night he met. Instead, it raised several merpeople up to the same height as Lance. He stared in amazement at the sight of his family, their glorious hair gone. In his elder sister's hand lay a knife. She held it out to him.

"We have watched you from afar, Lance," she said, sadly. "Our mother was distraught when she discovered what you had done. Many years ago, her younger sister fell in love with a human, one who was Keith's ancestor. She and her sisters attempted to save her but failed. Now we must do the same."

"Our hair has gone to the sea witch," one of Lance's younger brothers said. "In return, she gave us this knife. Take it – careful! It is very sharp." 

Lance took it, uncertain how it could help him. He placed it down beside him and signed his question to his beloved family. Yet, he could not communicate with them for they did not understand him. It made him sad and his youngest sibling, a little sister touched his face gently. 

"You must kill the prince," she said. "Take the knife and plunge it into his heart. That blood will touch your feet and, as soon as it does, it will bind your legs together and remake your beautiful tail."

"Do not die, Lance," said the eldest brother. "Come back to us."

They were lowered into the ocean, then, and Lance watched them go with a heavy heart. He knew he couldn't do as they asked. Looking at the knife, he wondered why it was Keith's blood that would remake his tail. It hardly seemed fair or right that that should be the cure. Yet... Keith  _had_ hurt him. Keith  _had_ pushed him away.

Picking up the knife, Lance made his way to the Royals' cabin and slipped inside. There, sprawled on the bed, was the prince. Keith's hair fell around him, dark against his pale skin. Lips pretty and pink were parted slightly in his sleep. His shirt was mussed and a blanket was thrown over his legs. On an armchair by the low table, Allura was curled, fast asleep with another blanket tucked around her. Lance supposed that she had fallen asleep there and Keith had been reluctant to wake her.

He stood over Keith, staring down at him. Trembling, he raised the knife, letting it glint in the small amount of light afforded by a candle on the table. Lance waited, trying to tell himself that his family was waiting for him, that he could return to the ocean. Could he find someone else to love? Surely he would? Keith wasn't the only kind, gentle, compassionate, handsome, sexy, amazing – _stop!_ – prince in the world.

Slapping a hand over his mouth to keep in the sobs no-one would hear, Lance turned from Keith's bedside, clutching the knife. He rushed out of the door and let it swing shut. There was no way he could kill the man he loved. How could he even  _think_ about doing it? Lance was a horrible person and he  _deserved_ to die.

Looking down at the knife, Lance decided he wouldn't wait for the dawn. What was the point in waiting? Turning the knife, Lance stood at the edge of the deck. Hopefully, when he died, he would fall into the sea as he was supposed to. He didn't want Keith to have to see his dead body. Keith should start the next day happy and unaware of Lance's disappearance. He raised the knife, took a breath and-

"Lance, stop!" came a cry and Lance jolted so violently that the knife dropped from his hand, landing with a splash in the sea. He turned to find Keith rushing towards him. Lance flinched, bracing himself for whatever Keith would do. Perhaps Keith would kill him. He had obviously woken when Lance was in his room. No doubt, Keith still thought he was a spy.

But no death came as Keith grabbed Lance's wrist and pulled him away from the edge of the ship. He didn't stop, taking Lance away from the deck. Lance struggled, wanting to die where he could see the sea. However, despite all his training and all the muscles he had built up, regardless of the pain he was constantly in, Keith was still stronger than him. 

Soon, they were in Lance's small cabin. Keith threw him onto the bed. "What the hell were you thinking?!" he demanded.

Blinking up at him, Lance shrugged.  _I could not kill you and so I will die in the morning. I was only speeding things up._

"What are you talking about?" Keith snapped.

Closing his eyes, Lance willed himself not to cry. It was one of the things he hated about being human. Underwater, there were no tears. On land, there were plenty. These heartbroken tears only made him feel worse. Once he'd taken a deep breath to steady himself, Lance signed,  _I love you._

Keith froze. "You... what?"

_I have loved you since I rescued you in the middle of a storm._

"That..." Keith began but he didn't seem able to comprehend what Lance was saying and fell silent, his eyes wide.

_I watched over you, wishing I could be with you and, when it got to be too much, I went to the sea witch. She took my voice in exchange for my legs. But she said that, if you did not love me and should you marry another, my heart would break and I would become the sea foam._

" _No_ !" exclaimed Keith, so loudly Lance thought he was in danger of waking Allura up. "No, you've got it all wrong!"

Lance tilted his head.  _What do you mean?_

"I'm not in love with Allura. It's a political marriage." Keith stepped across the small room and dropped onto the bed beside Lance. He took Lance's hands and stared into his eyes, those dark ones stealing Lance's breath yet again. "Our parents want a better alliance between Altea and Marmora. Allura was meant to marry my older brother, Shiro – I told you about him, didn't I?"

_He disappeared at sea._

"Everyone thinks he's dead and so they forced me to marry Allura to keep their plans going. This wedding was always going to happen, even before you arrived at the palace."

Frowning, Lance wondered why the sea witch hadn't told him about the humans' plans. Surely she would have known something like this? And the whole thing with the knife...? What would actually have happened had Lance killed Keith? When he turned back into a merman, would she have wanted more from him in payment? 

"Lance," Keith murmured and his soft tone made Lance look back up at him. He was surprised to see how close Keith was, his body almost pressed against Lance's. "Please believe me. I did not want to marry Allura. But we've not consummated the marriage – we can annul it when Shiro returns and the two of them can marry. That's where we're going now. We're going to find Shiro ourselves!"

Unable to ask what 'annul' meant, Lance settled on asking,  _Then who will you marry?_

"If you will allow it, I will marry you," Keith told him, all confidence and determination. "I love  _you_ not Allura and you avoiding me these past months has been torture."

The confession took Lance off-guard. He stared at Keith, his eyes welling up. Silently, he reached for him, wishing to hug him. Frantically, Lance nodded as he pulled Keith towards him. Keith gave a happy cry and, instead of relaxing into a hug, he grabbed Lance and pulled him into a kiss. Lance had barely started kissing back when he felt a strange tingling sensation along his whole body which grew to a horrible intensity.

He cried out as he jerked himself away from Keith. Before he could explain to Keith's hurt expression, Lance felt a horribly familiar pain shoot through him. Bolts of black magic appeared from nowhere and began to hit Lance over and over again. Keith stared at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, unable to do anything to help. Thinking he was dying, Lance let his tears fall and reached out to Keith, wishing for one last touch.

Then there came a sound. As soon as he heard it, Lance fell to the bed. He had barely sat up when the sound of singing floated towards him – quite literally. A globe of glowing gold appeared at the door and began to bob across the room, heading for Lance. Unable to believe what was happening, Lance opened his mouth and allowed the glowing thing to float in and down to his throat.

Everything stopped when he closed his mouth. There was no longer any pain. The room had dimmed again. Lance looked over at Keith who was staring at him. Or, more specifically, staring at Lance's tail which had reformed in its glorious blue, ripping through the expensive trousers he had been wearing. Stuck on the bed, Lance looked back up at Keith.

"Hey," he said, his voice surprisingly not hoarse for how long he hadn't used it. "My eyes are up here, you know."

Keith finally looked straight at him and Lance couldn't resist beaming at him. Slowly, Keith began to smile as well, crawling along the bed so that he was closer to the merman. "You have your voice and tail back," he said.

"Yeah. I don't really understand what's happened."

"Your voice... It's beautiful – just like the rest of you."

Lance laughed which seemed to perk Keith up, his entire face lighting up. Shaking his head, Lance gently pulled Keith's face closer to him. "You charmer, you," Lance said before pulling Keith in for another loving kiss.


End file.
